


Prompt #18: "Here, drink this. You'll feel better."

by Xylianna



Series: Xy's 100 Ways Challenge [41]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life, spoilers for maru's cut scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 18:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19796527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xylianna/pseuds/Xylianna
Summary: During a slow shift at the clinic, Maru thinks about her ambitions.





	Prompt #18: "Here, drink this. You'll feel better."

**Author's Note:**

> An unbeta'd gift fic for my sister, who does not have an AO3 account for me to link. Thanks for the prompt, sis, and I hope you like what I came up with!

“Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.” Maru passed the bottle of muscle remedy to Kat with a compassionate smile. “You work too hard out on that farm of yours. Make sure to take breaks so you don’t overdo it again, okay?

“If I don’t work hard, who will?” Kat laughed. “But I see your point. I’ll be more careful.” She hopped off the exam table. “Just in case, can I get some more of these to take with me?”

“Sure thing.” Maru opened the door and headed down the hall. She veered to one side, going through the employees’ only door that would lead her behind the counter, and emerged to find Kat waiting for her, the farmer’s smile holding a remnant of her earlier mirth. Maru grabbed her a case of the painkiller and passed it over, noting with admiration how easily Kat hefted it — farm work built strong muscles, that was for sure.

After Kat had paid her bill and left, Maru sat down in the stool they kept behind the till. There were no appointments on the books today, so unless there was an emergency, or someone else needing a muscle or energy tonic, her afternoon was going to be quiet. That suited Maru just fine, though. She used that time for her studies.

But first, her responsibilities. It was Wednesday, so Maru inventoried their stocks of medicines and other supplies, noting the large bandages were running low again (Kat kept going down the mines to get ore for Clint and quartz for Abigail, and the monsters at lower levels were fierce). That project took her a couple hours, and then Maru swept the floors and dusted the counter top.

Harvey passed through while she was cleaning and smiled in that avuncular way of his that made him seem much older than he really was. Maru thought he said something about checking the airwaves for bravo five, but she was already honed in on her book of choice for the day: a course catalog for the prestigious Calico Science Center. She knew most her friends were looking to enroll at Zuzu University, and it wasn’t a bad school at all — but Maru wanted to take classes that more closely fit her ambitions.

She’d already made decent progress on her own with robotics, and CSC offered advanced programming classes that could take her creations to the next step. She still wanted to create a helper bot for her mother, and maybe also one for her father to help him with his botanical studies. With a grin, she decided she’d make Sebby a pizza-bot — Yoba knew that when he got focused he didn’t remember to eat, so he could use an AI to make the food for him.

Maru liked helping people. That was one reason she worked at the clinic — it felt good to help someone else feel better, but she knew that nursing wasn’t the career for her, not long term. She didn’t think it was bragging to say that she was smart. Very smart. Her teachers at the high school they all attended the next town over had not really known how to challenge her, but Maru had come up with her own assignments, found her own ways to push her mind. Science was just so endlessly fascinating. 

Last week, when she’d shown Kat her robot and they’d watched it blast off into space, Maru had entertained the daydream that someday, she’d go into space too. And with an education at the Calico Science Center, maybe she could make that dream reality.

One thing was for sure… Pelican Town, while lovely and kind and _her home_ was too small for the big life she wanted to lead.

“Time to close!” Maru looked up to see Harvey beaming at her cheerfully, the setting sun’s light refracted off his thick glasses. “You did good today, Maru. Thanks for your help, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night, Harvey,” she said before heading into the back and changing form her uniform into her comfortable tshirt and overalls. It wasn’t long before she was heading up the mountain path towards home, her thoughts already a million miles away. Maybe today she’d work more on the diagrams for the auto-tiller she was trying to perfect as a thank you gift for Kat. The farmer had a penchant for running around town and giving everyone their most prized delicacies, from food to gemstones, and Maru wanted to give a little something back in thanks for all the minerals and metals Kat had supplied.

It would be a long night, full of calculations and sketching. Maru knew she wouldn’t get much sleep, but that was okay. Her enthusiasm was a better energy source than the strongest coffee, and she knew the end result would be worth the hard work and long hours.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated! <3


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